Machine indicator



' March 1o, 1970 w. J. HoKINs 3,499,226

MACHINE INDICATOR Filed Jan. 22. 1968 INVENTOR.

Y WILLIAM J. HOPKINS United States Patent O 3,499,226 MACHINE INDICATOR William J. Hopkins, Detroit, Mich., assigner, by direct and mesne assignments, to Randcar Corporation Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 643,811, May 31, 1967. This application Jan. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 699,545

Int. Cl. G01b 3/22 U.S. Cl. 33-169 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device to aid in setting up metalworking machinery and the like by providing an indication -when a reference point has been located. The indicating device includes a battery and a light energized upon contact with the machine part workpiece to complete the electrical circuit.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 643,811, filed May 31, 1967.

PRIOR ART Although machinery such las lathes, planers, milling machines and the like and other metalworking machinery are provided with controls for bringing the workpiece and the work performing portions of the machine to the proper relative positions, determining whether or not such positions have been provided is still a difficult and time consuming job and one Which is still usually performed manually with the aid of gages and other similar devices prior to a production run.

PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides an indicating device which can be used in a number of different ways to aid in setting up such machinery prior to performing the same work on a number of different Workpieces. By mounting the indicator in the chuck of a jig bore, for instance, and manipulating the controls until the light on the indicator is energized a reading can be taken on the machine dials so that each workpiece can -be brought to the required position without the aid of further instruments and to perform the desired boring operation at the same place on each workpiece.

Similar indicators have been previously provided. U.S. Patent No. 2,109,976 issued to W. S. Pierce, Ir. on Mar. l, 1938, for instance, discloses such a device which is quite similar in construction and in intended use to the present device. The present device, however, provides a considerable improvement over that disclosure in the manner in which the electrical connection is made between the components as will become more apparent as the description proceeds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Now referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the present invention a preferred embodi- 3,499,226 Patented Mar. 10, 1970 ment thereof is illustrated as comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow body 10 preferably constructed of a good electrical conductor material such as stainless steel o r the like. A cylindrical electrical insulator 12 is carrled at one end of the body 10 and provides the means for mounting a solid cylindrical sensor 14 to the body 10 to extend axially from one end thereof. As can best be seen in FIG. 2, the sensor 14 extends through the hollow center of the insulator 12 and is preferably press-fit therein to provide a face 15 disposed within the end of the hollow body 10.

An electric lamp 16 having a base 17 and which will be described in greater detail below is mounted Iwithin the interior of the hollow body 10 in radial alignment with a plurality of radially spaced openings 18 provided in the body 10. A battery 20 is carried in the body 10 and is urged into electrical contact with the base 17 of the lamp 16 by a spring 20 and a plug 22. The plug 22 is externally threaded and is received in a threaded interior portion 24 of the body 10 to close the end of the body 10 opposite the sensor 14. The spring 20 and the plug 22 are constructed of an electrical conductive material so that electrical current can be conducted in a path extending from the base 17 of the lamp 16 through the battery 20, the spring 21 and the plug 22.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 the lamp 16 is similar to a conventional flashlight lamp except that a strip 26 of electrically conductive material extends over the end of the lamp and is brazed at each end to the base 17 of the lamp 16. A hollow cylindrical piece 20 of clear material such as plastic is mounted to the base 17 and extends along a portion of the length of the lamp 16 to act as a shield for the lamp 16 and to help maintain the strip 26 in place. The strip 26 engages the face 15 of the sensor 14 so that the electrical circuit now extends from the base 17 of the lamp 16 to the sensor 14. Electrical contact 'between the sensor 14 and the body 10 is prevented by the insulator 12 so that the bulb 16 is not short circuited.

The indicating device of the present invention can be used in a number of different ways to aid in setting up metalworking machinery and one of these is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. l. The body 10 is mounted in the chuck 30 of a drill press 32. A workpiece 34 is carried by a suitable means and is movable relative to the chuck 30 in a manner permitting proper positioning of the workpiece 34 with respect to the chuck 30;'l`he machine 32 is provided with indicating dials (not shown) so that once a position has been achieved it is possible by a reading of these dials to return to that position.

The workpiece 34 is moved and the position readings are taken when the lamp 16 lights so that when the indicating device is removed and replaced by the proper tool the workpiece can be returned to theproper position by means of the position indicating mechanism and the work can then be performed on a number of workpieces in succession without requiring the use of gages or the like each time the operation is performed on a workpiece.

The electrical circuit which energizes the lamp 16 when the sensor 14 engages the workpiece 34 is completed through the workpiece and the machine parts connected thereto and through those portions of the machine engaging the body 10 of the indicator.

The improvement of the present invention over the prior art resides in the construction of the lamp 16 and especially the provision of the U-shaped, conducting lstrip 26 mounted to extend over the end of the bulb. This particular construction permits the manufacture and assembly of an indicating device like the one disclosed with a minimum number of required parts and with a minimum amount of manufacturing and assembly operations. In a number of devices of this type without such a construction it is either necessary to provide internal wiring connections to connect the base 17 of the lamp 16 with the sensor 14 or it has been necessary to provide a number of additional components for insulating certain parts of the device from other parts. In either event the manufacture is made that much more diicult and thus more costly.

It is apparent that although I have described my invention with reference to a lamp 16 to give a visual indication, the lamp could be replaced by other suitable electrically responsive signals or indicators such as a bell or a buzzer and it would work just as well.

It is also apparent that although I have described but a single embodiment of my invention many other changes and modications could be made therein.

I claim:

1. In an indicating device comprising a conductive machine engaging portion and a work engaging portion, means for electrically insulating said portions from each other and fixing said portion one to the other, electrical signaling means comprising a source of electrical energy and an electrically responsive indicator connected in series between said conductive portions and housed within one of said portions,.the improvement comprising said indicator having at one end a base portion electrically contacting said source of electrical energy and a U-shaped strip of electrically conductive material having the ends thereof ixed to said base portion and extending over the other end of said indicator, and the bright por tion of said strip, electrically contacting said work engaging portion to provide an electrical path therebetween.

2. The improvement as dened in claim 1 and in which said portion housing said indicator is hollow and is provided with openings therein to permit egress of signals from said indicator.

3. The improvement as defined in claim 2 and in which said indicator comprises an electric lamp.

4. The improvement as defined in claim 1 and in which said work engaging portion and said machine engaging portion are separated by an electrical insulator.

5. The improvement as defined in claim 1 and in which:

(a) said machine engaging portion is an open ended hollow cylinder and houses said indicator,

(b) an electrical insulator being carried in one end of said machine engaging portion, and

(c) said work engaging portion being carried in the end of said machine engaging portion but spaced therefrom by said insulator with a face thereof disposed within the interior of said machine engaging portion and engaging said electrically conductive strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,109,976 3/1938 Pierce 33-185 2,456,680 12/1948 Croft 24U-10.61 2,790,893 4/1957 Lane 24U-10.61 3,370,356 2/ 1968 Jend.

' FOREIGN PATENTS 1,035,033 4/1953 France.

WILLIAM D. MARTIN, JR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 33-185; 24U-10.61

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,499, 226 Dated March l0, 1970 Inventor(s) William J. Hopkins It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 3, line 19, after "device" insert --for connection to a machine carrying a workpiece, said device-,-

line 25, delete "conductive portions" and insert --machine engaging portion and said work engaging portion:

line 28, delete "contacting" and insert --connected with;` same line, after "said" insert --machine engaging portion and said-;

line 30, after "and" insert --an intermediate portion;

line 32, after "strip" insert --and--;

line 33, after "to" insert --complete an electrical circuit-; same line, delete "provide an electrical path therebetween." and insert --including the machine and said signaling means when said work engaging portion contacts said workpiacer- Signed and sealed this 28th day of September 1971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents I FORM PO-1OSO K10-69) USCOMM DC 60375969 5 U S GOVHNMENY PRINYING OFFIC 19.9 0-366-334 

